Uber & Gramener to drive data analytics prog. for IIIT Bangalore

INDIA: A scheduled to go live in June 2016, will see Uber and Gramener come together, co-curating it along with UpGrad and IIIT B and developing live case studies and projects to make sure that students get an immersive work place experience. Top management from the companies will also be giving guest lectures on the platform besides mentoring students.

IIIT-Bangalore University and UpGrad, an online higher education platform founded by Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar, have announced their partnership with Uber and Gramener to strengthen their post-graduate diploma program in Data Analytics.

Through this partnership, UpGrad claims it aims to make their Data Analytics program not only cutting-edge, academically-rigorous but also industry-relevant.

Here, as explained in an update, top management from the companies will also be giving guest lectures on the platform besides mentoring students.

"Data drives the core of Uber’s operations and we have a passion for unearthing and rethinking massive amounts of raw data to gain actionable insights. India has an exceptional talent pool and we are incredibly excited to partner with UpGrad to mentor and deliver our learning and experiences with students," said Sai Alluri, Analytics Lead at Uber India.

“There's a huge gap between learning versus applying analysis. The right application of a simple technique saved a client $2 mn in a single quarter. The wrong application of powerful techniques often leads them on a wild goose chase. Gramener and Upgrad will be working together to build real-life case studies based on Gramener's cross-industry experience, and to train students on real-world applications of analysis,” said S. Anand, Chief Data Scientist at Gramener.

According to experts, Data Analytics industry in India alone is expected to face a shortage of at least 2 lakh data scientists. This program, which was curated for working professionals to acquire industry relevant knowledge, grow their professional network, and accelerate their career in data analytics, now aims at bridging this gap by readying professionals for this foreseen demand of the industry.

IIIT-Bangalore and UpGrad had earlier announced their partnership to launch this program, which aims to train over 10,000 professionals in the field of data analytics. “Joining hands with UpGrad, an emerging leader with deep connects to industry, and at a time when the technology has matured to impact the entire life-cycle of learning - delivery of lectures, assessment of homeworkers, experience sharing with classmates, and collaborative project work with project mates - we expect this program to be a game changer,” said Prof. Sadagopan, the director of IIIT Bangalore.